Echania
Echanias (echinata nova) are a species of marine animal found in the southern oceans of ninth-world. They have been noted for bearing some similarity in appearance to earth crustaceans, leading to the tentative early name of Spined Crab. However, further research revealed that the name was very inaccurate indeeed, and it has now fallen into disuse. Physical Characteristics Echanias are large sea-dwelling creatures covered in armour; this has been noted for its resistant properties and has seen some use as cooking pots or armour, though the tradition was not often praciced due to the difficulties of preservation. The armour itself is grey and colour and segemented. Once an echania is several years old, its armour will begin to grow long, retractable spines. Echanias have ten joined legs, thought it's not uncommon for one to be seen with several missing due to fighting amongst the species. They have small, basic eyes, relying more on their extremely sensitive sense of touch, and large pincer-like mouths capable of biting through stone, or indeed the armour of another echania. Males have much larger pincers than females, sometimes in females they are almost absent, and not visable at all at first sight. Every six months, an echania will shed its armour as it outgrows it, leaving it temporarily vulnerable. The new armour generally takes two weeks to grow completely. The old armour will disintegrate completely within several days of it being shed. Echanias hatch from eggs and are generally between four and six inchees long at this point; they will proceed to grow to an average of between three and five feet long for males, and four and six for females. They lay eggs in clutches of five to ten. Diet Famously, the echania has a most unusual diet. It survives mainly off of nutrients found in sand and small rocks, and spends several hours every day 'grazing' in order to get the nutrition that it needs. Despite this, the echinia have been known to be oppurtunistic carnivores, and are able to digest meat when they must. There have been rumours of echanias taking down and thus eating humans and other sentient species who have ventured too close to the sea floor while diving; however, these are unconfirmed. Behaviour Echanias are territorial creatures, agressively attacking any creature who ventures too close to their homes. They live in caves shared only by their mate, towards whom they exhibit oddly devoted behavior which is absent from their care of their offspring. Echanias win their mate through duels, the males fighting for the females, and the victor mates for life. They bear between five and ten eggs at one time and will leave these to fend for themselves, buried in the sand. Echanias are thought to exhibit some rudimentary intelligence, or at least memory, as various tests have since proven that they will seek revenge. Uses The meat of echanias is edible to most sentient species, however due to the difficulties in procuring it it is considered somewwhat of a delicacy. The shells are prized for their toughness, and any tradesman who has the knowledge to properly preserve them is considered a master in their craft. The meat itself is salty and tender, more like beef than it is crab. It is used for some ethnic dishes, such as Garoth, a roast eaten by the Golgar. Variations Echania, being well-adapted to their habitat, have very little variation within the species. However, a few common mutations can be seen in the echania population. Albino echanias, echanias without segments in their shells, and echanias with the front pair of legs longer than any other pair are a few such variations. Other Echania are on the MLPA yellow list. Category:Fauna Category:Food Category:Marine Category:Yellow list Category:Danger Medium Category:Omnivore